


Opposites Attract

by Thefanfictor



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: (for part 2), Aaron Burr Being an Asshole, Awkwardness, Banter, Canon Era, Conversations, Crushes, Dialogue, Dolley Madison is a babe, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/M, First Meetings, Flirting, Friendship, I Ship It, Kisses, Love, Parties, Talking, Teasing, This Pairing Needs More Love - Freeform, for once, if not anxiety, in a nice way, so much dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 11:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12409782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefanfictor/pseuds/Thefanfictor
Summary: The story of how James and Dolley Madison met was fic material on a silver platter, so I wrote it.  Also, Jefferson meeting Dolley because that had to happen eventually.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aaron Burr is a terrible wingman, but he means well. Minor mention of alcohol, if that bothers you (it's like one line, but better safe than sorry).

His first thought was, "She's very pretty."  His second, "This was a bad idea."

The three of them were standing on the sidelines of some social function he hadn't wanted to attend in the first place.  He'd been making polite small talk with bored politicians who didn't have anything better to do when Burr dragged him off to where she was waiting.  Instead of doing the rational thing and simply smiling at her in a friendly way while he waited to be introduced, his brain (usually his only weapon) had completely burned out, leaving him gaping like a fish.

Her dark curly hair was pinned up in an elegant twist to show off a round, cheerful face, tan skin, and soft, full lips, which he definitely wasn't staring at.  The glass of wine in her hand was probably the cause of the redness in her cheeks, but it only added to her cheery glow.  She held herself with the easy grace of someone who could bring any event to life, and she was smiling at him.

He made the mistake of meeting her gaze.  Adding to his growing feeling of inferiority, he noticed that he had to look up to do so.

Her eyes sparkled with a keen wit he'd only seen before in two people.  Both had been good friends, and one still was.  He hoped this woman wouldn't go the way of the other.  Coupled with her smile, they served to make her utterly enchanting, and . . . and if he kept staring he might as well kiss this potential relationship goodbye.

Burr saved him.  "Finally, I've got you both in one place," he said with a smile of his own.  "You're both remarkably mobile when you want to be.  Dolley, this is James Madison.  Mr. Madison, meet my good friend Mrs. Dolley Todd."

As he mumbled a hello, the collar of his shirt suddenly felt like it was choking him.  What on earth was he supposed to do now? Kiss her hand, perhaps, or would that be too forward of him? Both of them watched him expectantly while his heart was beating as if it was trying to burst out of his chest.  This probably wouldn't make a very good first impression.

He settled on a bow.  To his relief, she returned it happily.

Now for the second hurdle: conversation.  He'd never been good with women.  Over the years he had discovered how to navigate pointless exchanges with colleagues or write letters that wouldn't be considered horribly offensive, but this was a different matter altogether.  A sentence tried to wrench its way out of him, got stuck somewhere in his throat, and exited as a strangled cough.

Fortunately, it was Dolley who made the first move.  "So, I see the great little Madison has come to meet with me."

An opener.  He could work with this.  "I had to make sure the stories were true." Oh no.  He'd messed it up already, he was sure of it.  "Favorable stories, all."

The barrage of insults he was silently screaming at himself cut off when she laughed, and not in a mocking way.  It was the kind of laugh one could hear a thousand times and still want her to do it again.  "You flatter me.  What exactly were these stories about?"

Panic was creeping in around him again.  He forced it down.  Calm.  Damage control.  "A lovely lady who also happened to be an excellent conversationalist.

Her blush deepened.  "Well then," she said, spreading her arms for examination, "do I meet expectations?"

"So far, more than surpass them."

Aaron was smirking.  "He likes you.  You can tell because his eyes don't have that dull quality you see when other people aren't interesting enough for his taste.  This is quite a rare occurrence; I wonder if we should get someone to record the event for posterity."

Dolley didn't quite smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched and the sparkle in her eyes grew even more pronounced.  

" _Anyway_ ," Madison cut in.  "Um--Mr. Burr said you were married?" Hopefully answering the question would distract her from the other things Mr. Burr had said.

"I was married," she said.  "He died last year."  Despite the change of topic, her demeanor didn't change.  Interesting.

"My condolences."  He had already heard news of this, but it didn't hurt to confirm that she was single.

"You're very kind.  But let's not talk about that.  Aaron's been helping me take care of my finances, and besides, this is a party for goodness' sake! How have you been enjoying yourself?"

He responded with one of those generic comments he gave to everyone who asked him that.

"I knew you hated it.  You don't seem the type for this sort of thing."

His face heated up and Burr chuckled.  "It seems your social awkwardness is even more legendary than we thought."

"Cheer up, I won't tell anyone how much you despise being here," Dolley said, patting on the shoulder.  She then proceeded to regale them with a tale about the conversation she'd been having before they were introduced.  Told by anyone else, the story would've been forgettable, but Dolley had a way of making even the dullest details dazzling.

"Well, I found it funny," she said when she finished.  "After all, if we're to be spending more time in each other's company, I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it.  I love parties."

Madison smiled at her, equal parts terrified and ecstatic.  On one hand, the thought of attending more parties than he had to made him feel physically ill.  On the other, spending more time with Dolley was rapidly climbing his list of short-term goals and she'd just provided him with an excellent segue.  "Speaking of seeing each other again . . ." He took a breath.  It was just talking.  Nothing to worry about.  Unless she took offense, or rejected his offer, or . . .

Best to discontinue that train of thought.  He forced out the rest of the sentence.  "Perhaps you'd like to join me for dinner next week?"

Silence.  "I don't think she heard you," Burr stage-whispered.  Dolley swatted him on the arm.

"Quiet, you," she told the amused Aaron.  "Thank you very much for the offer, Mr. Madison.  I'd be happy to accept.  How does Thursday sound?"

"Thursday would be . . ." Wonderful.  Incredible.  Perfect.  "Fine."

Her entire face lit up.  "Fine," she repeated.  "Well, I suppose I'll see you then.  I'm sure there are many people who are rather annoyed they haven't been able to talk to you, and while I'm flattered to have been able to hold your attention for this long, I'd hate to keep them waiting."

He gave her another bow before Burr pulled him away.  "Isn't she something else," the other man commented, strolling along casually at his side.

"You can say that again."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dolley meets Jefferson. Hijinks ensue.

Introductions had never been James Madison's strong suit, even when he wasn't the one conducting them.  He usually didn't make good first impressions and tended to spend several hours after these meetings violently cursing himself for his social shortcomings.  The two most obvious exceptions to this rule, however, were his best friend and his soon-to-be wife.  Naturally, he now had to introduce them.

He cleared his throat.  "Thomas, this is my fiancee, Dolley.  And, um, Dolley, I've told you about Thomas Jefferson."

"You and many others," Dolley said with a laugh.  "I never thought I'd talk to the man himself.  It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jefferson." She gave him a curtsy and James wondered (not for the first time) how she did it.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Thomas replied.  "I've heard good things."

"There are a lot to hear.  Good things, I mean," Madison said, immediately regretting saying anything at all.

"That's very sweet of you, Jemmy," Dolley said, smiling.  "You're too kind."

"Oh, you call him that, too?" Thomas said.  "See, James, I told you it wasn't just me!"

"I hate that nickname," Madison muttered.  

"I think it's cute," Jefferson and Dolley said at the same time.  They looked at each other in surprise.

"So, Dolley," Thomas said, his tone making it clear he was up to no good, "how'd a girl like you end up engaged to my best friend? Not that he isn't a catch, but it just seems a little unlikely.  I mean, it definitely wasn't his good looks and charm--"

"Hey!"

"--and I love the guy, but I've been his friend long enough to know that he can't dance to save his life."

Dolley chuckled.  God, even when she was laughing at him she was beautiful.  It wasn't fair.  "I'll tell you, if you must know."

"I must."

So she told him.  Her gift for storytelling (much like Jefferson's own) never ceased to astound.  She made the anecdote much more interesting (and much longer) than Madison remembered it, even coaxing some smiles out of Thomas.  When she finished, the other man shook his head in wonder, then started to laugh.

"That's Mr. Madison for you," he remarked.  "Too shy to talk to you by himself, so he got Burr to arrange it for him.  Classic.  What happened then? How did he win you?"

"We corresponded for a while over the summer.  Jemmy is quite skilled with a quill--"

"Among other things," James couldn't resist adding.  Dolley elbowed him lightly in the ribs and Jefferson snorted.

His fiancee continued undaunted.  "We did some other things together, got to know each other more, and now we're engaged.  I'm trying to get James to agree to a nice, big, fancy wedding, but he wants to go small and simple."

"I've been to lots of your other parties, Dolley.  I just want something quiet."

"If he had his way, he'd be reading one of his books through the whole thing," Thomas joked.  "Or just skip the ceremony altogether.  He always tries to avoid those sorts of things, have you noticed that, Dolley? Not that I can blame him.  By the way . . ." He turned on Madison and folded his arms.  "James.  James, James, James.  My favorite James.  How long have I been your best friend?"

"A very long time, Thomas."

"Right.  We have no secrets."

"None at all."

"But you are getting married in less than a month and you neglected to introduce me to your lovely bride-to-be until now?! One would think that, as your best friend, you would notify me of this fascinating new development at once, but no! You have forsaken me, James! I finally know true betrayal!"

"You said that when you dropped a bowl of macaroni and cheese on your foot once.  Besides, you've been busy lately and I didn't want to bother you."

"He was nervous about how you'd take it," Dolley explained.

Madison winced.  "I thought we weren't going to tell him that."

"It's for your own good, sweetheart." She kissed him on the cheek, which mollified him a bit.

Not to be ignored, Jefferson broke in again.  "Fine, fine, I forgive you, but please tell me I'm not going to have to be a third wheel again? Because spending time with the Schuyler Churches in Paris was bad enough."

"Are you comparing me to John Church?" Madison asked in mock offense.

"I would never!"

Dolley and Thomas both laughed, and after a moment Madison joined in the merriment.  "Despite the comparison," he said once it had died down, "there may yet be an analogy to the Churches if you keep bonding with my intended." He squeezed Dolley's hand and she smirked at him.

"Oh, are we bonding, Mrs. Almost-Madison?" Thomas asked innocently.  "I was unaware."

"So was I, Mr. Jefferson.  Although this has been lovely.  I feel we've gotten to know each other reasonably well, under the circumstances, but I still don't know so many things about you.  If you are fond of animals, for instance.  I certainly hope so.  If this is the case, you simply must meet my parrot whenever you come to visit us.  You can bond with him if you like."

Jefferson's eyes lit up the way they always did when the subject changed to the wonders of nature.  "You have a parrot?"

"Don't get her started," Madison warned him.  "She can talk about that demon for hours."

"Hush, you."

The two of them excitedly swapped stories about their various incorrigible animals.  About halfway through this discussion, Jefferson started using Madison's shoulder as an armrest, much to Dolley's amusement.  He gave up trying to shrug it off and talked when he could, but mostly he just watched his fiancee in action and marveled.  He was rather envious of her ability to connect with people so easily.  It was something he'd always struggled with, and she had the most magnetic personality he'd ever had the pleasure to encounter.  She'd even gotten Jefferson to relax and joke around in a matter of minutes (no small feat).  Not for the first time, he wondered how he'd gotten so lucky.

It was at the end of a tale about one of Jefferson's many misadventures with his mockingbird when Madison finally thought to glance over at the clock.  "Not that this hasn't been . . . amusing, informative, and mildly mortifying, but we should probably be going.  We have another appointment to keep."

"Oh, must we leave now?" Dolley asked, her skirts whirling as she turned to him with a pout.  "I think Thomas and I have really been hitting it off!"

"Be that as it may, I'd rather not be late."

"If you insist, Jemmy."

"You're abandoning me.  Typical," Thomas said.  "Alright, but before you go, would the lovely Dolley answer one more question for me?"

"I'd be happy to," Dolley said, the familiar sparkle in her eyes returning.

Jefferson was almost vibrating from excitement.  "Okay.  So, are you or are you not capable of picking him up? Because if you are, this will officially be the greatest day of my life."

Madison's fiancee smiled.  In answer, she hoisted her soon-to-be husband over her shoulder and returned him to the ground only a little out of breath.  Dusting off her hands, she gave Jefferson another curtsy and made a show of tipping an imaginary hat.  Jefferson clapped enthusiastically.

"I still think this is undignified," James said, straightening his jacket.

"But you don't mind, do you?" Dolley asked.  She held onto his arm with one hand, putting the other to her mouth, and generally looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

"No," he admitted.

Jefferson cleared his throat, just to remind them that he was still there.  "I can die fulfilled," he said faintly.  He kissed Dolley's hand.  "Thank you, madam, you are a service to your country."

"I try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dolley Madison and Thomas Jefferson are honestly kind of a frightening pair. Leave comments/kudos if you liked it, they help me assume perfect form.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit that the way James acts in this is heavily based off of myself. He's head over heels, and who can blame him? Leave kudos/comments if you liked it, y'alls thoughts about my writing are greatly appreciated


End file.
